Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A person could have every royal delight: power, splendor, and commands that everyone obeys. They could sleep on soft beds scented with sandalwood.
If that is all there is, the heart is left empty in the end, no closer to the light.
All the riches of a king cannot fill an empty heart.
Raaj leelaa means the pleasures of a king's life. Hukam afaaraa means giving orders that no one dares to question. Sayj sohnee chandan cho-aa means a beautiful bed, sprinkled with sandalwood perfume. It sounds like everything a person could want.
But the verse ends with a sharp warning. Such a life, if it is all there is, can become narak ghor kaa du-aaraa, a doorway into a very dark place. Think of a birthday with a mountain of presents and no one who loves you in the room. The shine is there. The heart is still empty. Splendor alone never fills us.
Can you have everything you want and still feel something missing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI